I break my eyes away from Elijah and look at Remi. She’s watching the two of us with her own smile.
“I never really understood the whole hoopla of having a baby, but I get it now. He’s absolutely adorable.”
Her smile grows. “I’m bias because he’s mine, but I think so too. Even so, thank you.”
My eyes fall back to Elijah. The little guy is so cute I could probably watch him for hours. Unfortunately, my baby watching is interrupted when the front door opens and JW and Trouble walk in. A flutter forms in my stomach when JW’s eyes land on me. Something dark and potent settles in their gorgeous blue depths. The look makes my heart pitter patter strangely.
Trouble walks to Remi, who stands to greet her husband. My gaze moves to them, but I immediately skirt them away when he wraps one arm around her waist and he hauls her to his chest, planting a kiss so hot against her lips I feel the heat from it. I look back to JW to find him with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets, his eyes still locked on me. They slowly run down my camisole, over my long willowy skirt, and back up again. Warmth spreads in my stomach at the intense look in his eyes.
“Sorry to take him away, but I need to steal my son from you,” Trouble remarks, stepping up beside me.
I snatch my eyes away from the man across the room and hand over the charming Elijah to his father. The look on Trouble’s face as he looks down at his son shows his absolute adoration he holds for his child. Trouble is a very good-looking man, but looking at him as he stares down at Elijah and seeing the expression on his face makes him ten times hotter. I’m sure he’s melted plenty of panties since he became a father.
“I thought you had a full day today?” Remi asks as she smooths Elijah’s hair with a gentle hand.
“I’m not staying. I just came by to get a patient file I left here. Met JW on the way over. He needs to speak with Eden.”
I look back at JW with a raised brow.
He juts his chin toward the door. “Take a walk with me?”
I nod and gather my purse.
“I’ll stay here until you get back,” Jenny says.
I feel JW’s hand at my back when I pass by him and it sends chills over my arms. Before I get a chance to open the door, he reaches past me and opens it himself. A gentleman. Such a rare thing these days.
It’s quiet for the first few minutes as we walk down the sidewalk. I take a look around since we’re heading in the opposite direction of where Jenny and I came from. The town, or what I’ve seen of it so far, is cute and quaint. Businesses seem to be in the middle of town with houses on the outside. I hear kids’ laughter somewhere, but I can’t see them. Dogs bark off in the distance and someone is playing soft music.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, wondering what he wanted to talk with me about.
“So far. I just wanted to let you know I’ve done a bit of digging.”
I stop and my head snaps in his direction. “What?” I ask, then wince when my voice rings out too loudly.
“Settle down,” he says calmly, like he didn’t just tell me something that could lead Diego right to the doorstep of where I’m hiding out. Or at the very least the town I’m in.
“I haven’t dropped your name anywhere. I did some digging on Diego to find out where he is. Besides, there are ways of finding out information where it doesn’t leave a trail.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, happy my whereabouts are still hidden. For now, at least. I have no doubt Diego could still find me if he looked hard enough. I’m hoping whatever JW has planned will stop him before he has a chance to get to me.
We start walking again.
“Did you find anything?”
JW exhales heavily. “Nothing I didn’t already know. Diego is a hothead and unpredictable. His father’s been trying to rein him in for years with no success. The Tomases are harsh and very dirty with their business dealings, but Diego is the worst of the lot.” He stops and rubs the back of his head. “I’m thinking about calling a meeting with Emiliano to see what can be done about Diego. It’s a long shot, but worth a try.”
This news sends a knot of dread straight to my stomach. I can’t see anything good coming from this meeting, except putting JW and this town on the Tomas radar.
“Are you sure that’s wise? From what I’ve heard of the Tomas family, they protect their own no matter the circumstanc
es.”
The thought of harm coming to him really unsettles my stomach.
“I’m not really seeing a choice here,” he answers as we walk by an ice cream store.
An ice cream store? What a strange thing to have in a town this size. They either can’t have much business, or the people of Malus really like ice cream.